WAFO-10 beating the heat in Oaklands, remotely

working outside in Oaklands

Here we are on one of the hottest days of the year in YYJ, and I took up an invite from a Workmate to stop by his front-yard for a working sesh. Not one to miss a chance to try out a new remote WAFO space, I biked over!

This front yard must be among the finest remote office spaces around! I took up a comfy patio seat underneath a lush fig tree, and was able to put my feet up on yonder tree branch to make a very effective lap-desk for the laptop! The WIFIs were plenty strong enough for a Zoom call, which is what you need when you’re in a virtual-team setting with everyone going WAFO, one way or the other!

As a guest, I was able to enjoy a cool beverage, and use the in-house facilities as needed! I eventually had to break out a battery pack to power through the end of the sesh, but all in all, a very unique WAFO time under the Summer 2021 #YYJ heat-dome!

WAFO-9 working close to office

1515 Douglas Street - public rotunda

I’ve spent a bunch of the last year, since 2020-June anyways, working in this space. The public atrium at 1515 Douglas Street. Workday has an office suite in this building, but as you know, it has been closed due to COVID since 2020-March.

Jawl has permitted tenants to use the building, so I’ve leveraged the opportunity to make this 1st floor space a very effective workspace. It basically ticks all the boxes:

  • bathrooms nearby
  • plenty of coffee nearby
  • power outlets, if needed
  • WIFI – from several sources

This site gets bonus marks for the great natural light!

I’ve had to bring my own chair to use this space, as the public seating was removed a while ago, to discourage gatherings. Pictured to the left is the Martin chair, by IKEA. I have storage space in the building to stow the chair. Also access to a storage locker, for day-use only. And a shower. And secure bike-storage. Tick more boxes.

Nice space, and a quick bike commute from James Bay!

WAFO-8 Upper deck at home

At home, there is a nice upper deck that is useable as office space in the summer months. It ticks all the boxes for power, Wifi, bathrooms, access to coffee, etc.

In this shot, you can see that I have the Macbook set up on a bistro table. I’ve got a plank of wood acting as a desk-surface that levels out the bumps on the tabletop, and also provides a bit more elbow room for the coffee thermos.

I decided to bring out the whiteboard, and set it up on a wooden table that’s handy up there.

WAFO-7 1021 Fort Street

The site of Picnic Coffee, near the corner of Fort & Vancouver streets. The owners run a catering outfit out back, and a coffee shop out front. Great eats to be had here, and on the day this shot was taken, I was enjoying the June Macro Bowl – which got my 3 noms for YYJ Macro Bowl of the Year – #nomnomnom.

So yah, my WAFO experiences here include a camp-chair outing in spring of last year, just out front on the sidewalk shown. Too bad I didn’t get a picture of that scene for this series!

Jon had the patio built onto curbside parking out front sometime in summer 2020. Flip back to WAFO-4 to see another work space.

Again, all the boxes here are ticked:

  • coffee / eats
  • bathroom
  • power, if you’re sitting in this seat
  • WIFI